Presented at The NewsGuild-CWA Sector Conference Jan. 26, 2019

Organizing Report January 2019

The NewsGuild-CWA saw an unprecedented level of organizing since the last sector conference, organizing over 1700 workers in the last two years. After enduring years of declining working conditions, workers are standing up and organizing for a voice on the job.

We kicked off 2018 with a landslide election victory at The Los Angeles Times in January, followed by a voluntary recognition agreement at The Chicago Tribune in May. We ended the year strong with an election win at The Daily Hampshire Gazette in Massachusetts and a voluntary recognition agreement at Mashable, PC Mag, Geek, and Ask Men in NYC.

Organizing is on the rise! • TNG-CWA organized 1426 new workers in 2018 • Over half of new workers organized in 2018 were from Tribune Publishing (formerly known as tronc) • The Guild had organizing victories in both large urban areas such as Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, as well as in right-to-work states including Florida, Virginia, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

TNG-CWA Organizing update January 2017 – January 2019

RECOGNITION ACHIEVED

Chicago Newspaper Guild -- Local 34071

People’s Action – Canvassers at this ten-employee social justice organization received voluntary recognition on Feb. 8, 2018.

People's World – The ten-member staff of this Chicago-based Communist Party web site received voluntary card check recognition on Feb. 8, 2017. People's World is a direct descendant of the Daily Worker, which began publication in 1924.

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American Federation of Teachers, Chicago Staff – A unit of five workers at the Chicago Regional office of the AFT won voluntary recognition in March 2017. They are involved in a project called United Academics of Chicago. Issues for these workers include starting pay rates, expense reimbursements and union jurisdiction.

Chicago Tribune – On May 6, 2018, Tribune Publishing agreed to voluntary recognition of three bargaining units covering a total of 280 workers. This campaign was launch internally by Tribune workers, who reached out to TNG after the LA Times win. The Tribune, like the LA Times is a historically anti-union employer, making the voluntary recognition even more remarkable.

Denver Newspaper Guild – Local 37074

Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune – Newsroom workers voted 9-to-1 on Feb. 27, 2018 in favor of union representation, marking the first time Wyoming’s statewide paper has unionized in its 127- year history.

Greater Boston Newspaper Guild – Local 31032

Massachusetts Jobs With Justice – The seven-member staff of this Boston-based group won voluntary recognition on June 26, 2017.

Minnesota Newspaper and Communications Guild – Local 37002

Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC) – Workers won voluntary recognition for a bargaining unit of seven people on Sept. 12, 2017.

Smart Set – Workers at this small digital print shop won voluntary recognition in Sept. 2018.

NewsGuild of New York, Local 31003

Roosevelt Institute – On Feb. 23, 2017, management at this liberal think tank agreed to voluntarily recognize the union. The unit has 17 members.

United Auto Workers – This 30-person unit won recognition in April 2018.

New Republic – This 15-person unit won recognition in April 2018.

New Yorker – This 115-person unit won voluntary recognition in July 2018.

Mic.com – The local obtained voluntary recognition on March 15, 2018 for this 50-member group of online employees.

Ziff Davis – Editorial employees at Ziff Davis won voluntary recognition on Dec. 14, 2018. Ziff Davis includes Mashable, PC Mag, Geek, and Ask Men.

Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild – Local 37082

Missoula Independent – Owned by Lee Enterprises, this 10-person newsroom won an election in April. The paper has since closed.

2 United Media Guild – Local 36047

Fight for $15 – Over 50 workers won voluntary recognition in Nov 2017.

The Southern Illinoisan – Newsroom employees of The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale, Ill voted 12-0 on May 17, 2018 to unionize. The Southern Illinoisan joins the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and the recently organized Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune and Missoula (Montana) Independent as Lee- owned newspapers with unionized newsrooms.

Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild – Local 32035

Advancement Project – On Jan. 10, 2017, workers won an NLRB representation election at Advancement Project, 11-to-2. Voting occurred with a combination of in-person balloting and mail ballots. The Advancement Project is a Washington, DC-based social justice organization.

American Prospect – On April 21, 2017, workers won voluntary recognition for their seven-person unit at this progressive publication.

Raw Story – On July 19, 2017, workers won voluntary recognition for the ten-member staff of the online publication Raw Story.

Democratic Socialists of America – On July 27, 2017, the eight-member staff of this progressive political organization won voluntary recognition.

Real News Network – Nine workers at this nonprofit news organization won voluntary recognition in Aug. 2017.

M & R Strategic Services – Workers voted overwhelmingly on Sept. 20, 2017 to unionize. The vote at the online advocacy company was 36-26. There were 82 eligible voters. The company has offices in New York and Washington. The vote followed an intense employer campaign that sought to exclude 19 workers from the bargaining unit claiming they were supervisors. This move delayed the election by a month. The local prevailed at the hearing.

Lambda Legal – On Dec. 29, 2017, employees at Lambda Legal voted 42-8 in favor of union representation. The unionization effort was a result of frustration over cuts to benefits and concerns over the leadership style of its CEO. The unit covers 80 workers from around the country. Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people living with HIV.

Revolution Messaging – Voluntary recognition was obtained for this group of 63 workers on April 3, 2018.

National Abortion Federation – After almost 6-1/2 months of waiting for a Trump appointed NLRB eligibility decision, a unit of 42 National Abortion Federation Hotline Employees located in DC voted overwhelmingly 26-to-6 on Aug. 7, 2018 to unionize.

Center for Public Integrity – This 22-person unit includes the news and development departments at CPI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization. Workers won union recognition on Nov. 27, 2018. The group went public on Nov. 8, and management subsequently agreed to recognize the union via card check.

3 Carroll County Times/Annapolis Capitol/BSMG – A 50-person unit covering multiple newsrooms won voluntary recognition from owner Tribune Publishing in Nov. 2018.

ReWire – This 19-person unit won voluntary recognition in Sept. 2018.

TNG Los Angeles Times – News department workers voted 248-44 for representation by TNG-CWA in ballots counted on Jan. 19, 2018. The unit size is 389. There were 45 challenged ballots.

Florida Times Union (Jacksonville) – Workers at the GateHouse-owned Florida Times Union in Jacksonville voted 18-9 on July 19, 2018 to be represented by TNG-CWA. There were 5 challenged ballots. This is TNG's third GateHouse paper in Florida organized in the past two years.

Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, Tidewater Review – Calling themselves the Tidewater Media Guild, over 100 newsroom employees at Tribune-owned publications The Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review in Virginia won voluntary recognition in Sept. 2018. Together these publications account for the dominant media market in the southeastern Virginia region. Issues include job security, gender/race diversity, pay equity, and adequate resources to provide quality coverage for their local communities. There will be two bargaining units with agreement from the company to engage in joint bargaining.

Omaha World-Herald – On Oct. 8, 2018, newsroom employees at Nebraska’s largest newspaper voted 71-5 to unionize. Workers organized around issues including job security, regular raises, and defending quality journalism. The total unit is 91. Owner BH media paid Lee Enterprises, based in Davenport, Iowa, to manage The World-Herald and BH Media's other newspapers in July, stoking concern around downsizing and declining journalistic standards.

Daily Hampshire Gazette – This 75-person wall-to-wall unit won their union election on Dec. 12, 2018. The vote was 40-29 with 5 challenges.

ELECTION LOSSES

Washington-Baltimore NewsGuild – Local 32035

American Humanist Association. On Feb. 1, 2017 workers voted 5-to-4 against representation. The key issue that caused problems was a last-minute fear campaign that centered on the fact that people dismissed for cause under a union contract’s just cause standard would not be entitled to unemployment insurance. This is a not-for profit group “advocating progressive values and equality for humanists, atheists and freethinkers.”

Canadian Media Guild – Local 30213

National Post – In April 2018, Martin O’Hanlon reported that “after months of delays waiting for a Labour Board count of challenged ballots at the National Post, we have lost the certification vote by a razor-thin 32-31. While we had a solid majority of cards signed, we lost key votes due to targeted buyouts and a shrewd management pressure campaign.”

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